The question of how to improve your singing voice is kind of like asking how to improve your cooking skills, or your writing ability, or your mountain climbing prowess.

The answer is ALWAYS going to be practice, practice, and more practice.

I’m pretty sure you already knew that though, so I’m guessing that what you really want to know is whether or not there’s anything else you can do to improve your singing voice aside from singing scales, drilling away at vocal exercises, and mastering new songs at every opportunity.

The answer is yes. There are definitely things you can do to improve your voice that don’t involve singing practice.

1. Memorise Your Song Lyrics and Melodies

When you’re reading notes and/or lyrics off sheet music, a big chunk of your brain is focused on the task of reading.

This means that big chunk of your brain is not focused on actual singing. You’d be lucky to be singing at even half your capacity.

That’s fine when you’re first learning a new piece of music, but within a couple of weeks you need to shed that sheet music and focus on your singing. Get your eyes off the page and start really singing those words, not just reading them.

It is almost impossible to successfully interpret a song without knowing it off by heart. If you’re reading, you’re not totally focused on your vocal performance. You’ll struggle to connect with the meaning of what you’re singing.

And if you’ve only half learned a song and you’re struggling to remember the next line, then you won’t be focusing on preparing your attack and giving that line your best shot.

Memorise your song lyrics and the melodies. I always suggest reading over the lyrics of the song you’re learning a couple of times every night before you go to bed, then try to recite them without reading when you wake up in the morning. Lyrics have a funny way of gelling overnight.

2. Practice Breathing Exercises

Building up your lung capacity is important for singers who want to last through long phrases without running out of breath and having to top up in the middle of a line.

But you don’t have to be vocalising to do breathing exercises. You can do them anywhere without making a sound (elevator, anyone?).

Yoga classes are a great way to learn more about control of the breath, but there are also many simple breathing exercises you can practice at home.

One of the most basic breathing exercises I recommend for building up your lung capacity is this:

NOTE: If you feel at all light headed when doing this exercise, please stop and rest. If you are not used to breathing deeply this way, you may be prone to hyperventilating.

Place your hands on your waist

Move your hands straight up your body until they are sitting on the bottom of your rib cage – you should be able to feel your lower front ribs under your index fingers, and your lower back ribs against your thumbs

Exhale the air in your lungs until you need to take a breath

Inhale slowly, focusing on expanding the thoracic area where your hands are sitting – you should feel your hands moving outwards as the ribs expand and your intercostal muscles are stretched

When you cannot take in any more air, slowly begin to exhale. Make the exhale last as long as possible, letting out as little air as possible as you go.

Repeat up to 5 times. Always stop if you begin to feel faint.

Watch out that you do not lift your shoulders when inhaling – it’s a sign of upper respiratory breathing, and you need to be filling up the widest space at the bottom of your lungs, not the narrower peaks at the top.

3. Do Regular Physical Exercise

If you’ve never exerted yourself by doing some physical exercise for half an hour or so before you start singing, you really should try it. You’re likely to be surprised at how much more vital your vocals sound. There’s something about oxygenating the blood and getting your body moving with exercise that has a quite amazing effect on the voice.

I actually know of several singers who go for a brisk walk before performances for this reason.

Aside from the vocal and energetic boost you get in this situation, your general physical fitness does affect your vocal abilities. Exercising regularly and keeping your body – which is literally your instrument – in a healthy condition, will help you to improve your singing. You’ll have more stamina and more energy, which are likely to contribute to better vocal control and a stronger mindset.

4. Keep Hydrated

Drink water. Lots of water. Ideally a couple of litres per day (tea and coffee don’t count). You will sing better if you’re hydrated.

Your vocal cords need lubrication to work optimally. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty, because by then you’re already dehydrated. A quick swig of water before you go on stage won’t help if you haven’t been drinking throughout the day.

Picture your vocal folds drying out like parchment paper, and that’s usually a good enough incentive to reach for the water bottle.

5. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking

While the water bottle is a yes, beer and wine bottles are a no (and spirits are a no-no-no!).

I wrote about this in a post on vocal health, but I’m going to quote myself here because it was pretty good advice:

Alcohol dries and irritates the vocal cords, making them less pliable when singing. To counteract this effect, many singers push harder to achieve a better sound. This can further damage the voice and cause burst blood vessels and polyps on the cords.

Smoking forms plaque on the vocal cords and dries them out, making the voice sound rougher. Plaque cannot be removed by surgery, and the more you smoke, the more it builds up.

Avoiding both alcohol and smoking (including inhaling second-hand smoke from others near you) will help you to sing better. The sooner you put them aside, the sooner your vocal cords will thank you.

Bonus! Just thought of another one!

6. Sleep

As a new mum, it occurred to me that sleep is definitely a deal breaker. If you’ve not had a decent night’s sleep, you’ll struggle to get it together vocally. If you want to improve your singing voice without actually singing, getting at least 8 hours kip in a row will make a big difference to your energy levels and therefore your vocal abilities.

And if you don’t have any kids, enjoy your extended sleep time. I’m jealous.

Summary

To sum up, all of the above factors take much less time to implement than the hours you should be dedicating to singing practice, yet they will help you to improve your singing voice significantly.

Have a go at putting them into practice and please, as always, let me know how you go by providing feedback or commenting below. Happy Singing!

I frequently meet singers of all levels who want to know how to get better singing voices. Many people think that singing lessons and regular practice are all you need, but a good voice starts with good vocal health. Here are 5 ways to help keep your voice in shape.

1. Give up smoking and alcohol

Some might argue that rock musicians just wouldn’t rock without these substances, but for singers they are a duet of vocal cord poison.

Smoking forms plaque on the vocal cords and dries them out, making the voice sound rougher. Plaque cannot be removed by surgery, and the more you smoke, the more it builds up.

Alcohol dries and irritates the vocal cords, making them less pliable when singing. To counteract this effect, many singers push harder to achieve a better sound. This can further damage the voice and cause burst blood vessels and polyps on the cords.

In short, you’ll need to ditch the cigs and the bottle if you’re serious about your vocal health.

2. Stay hydrated by drinking water

By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Water provides the body with lubrication. To keep the vocal cords from becoming dry, singers need to be consistently drinking water throughout the day.

It can take 2 hours for the body to rehydrate after drinking water, so a drink just before you jump on stage may not do much until after your performance is over. Take a water bottle with you wherever you go, and try to drink a couple of litres throughout the day.

3. Don’t sleep with a fan or air-conditioning blowing on you

On those hot summer nights it might be hard to avoid, but sleeping under a fan or air-conditioning vent can dry you out, making your voice feel and sound scratchy when you sing.

Recirculated air-conditioning is also best avoided as it could make you more susceptible to other people’s germs (think about how often travellers get colds after flights). If you’re anywhere near a performance date and need catch a plane or public transport, a paper face mask could be an option to consider, especially during ‘flu season. Ok, I agree that paper face masks can look a bit weird, but cancelling performances is a big deal. Weigh up the consequences of getting sick.

4. AAAAARRRRGHH! NO SCREAMING!

Straining your vocal cords by screaming for your team, yelling at the dog, or otherwise raising your voice above a holler does nothing to help your singing voice. It puts a strain on your vocal cords, can temporarily make you sound hoarse, and in the longer term can damage your vocal cords if you do it regularly. If the kids can’t hear you when you call them in for dinner, invest in a megaphone.

5. Warm up before you sing

You wouldn’t run a marathon without stretching first, so don’t launch into the Queen of the Night aria without at least a few warm up scales first. Vocal cords are muscles, just like those in any other part of your body, and like your hamstrings they should be warmed up and stretched out before you launch into anything particularly vigourous.

The take home message is this: Treat your vocal cords with respect and they’ll reward you with a lifetime of great singing.

So you missed The Voice auditions last year because you hadn’t heard of the show yet, and then you were kicking yourself when you discovered that you’d missed The Voice auditions this year as well. Before you know it, next year’s auditions will be here, so if you already know that you want to try out for the next season, now is the time to start your preparation. This article is Part 2 of 2 that set out the key things you need to address in preparation for your audition. Part 1 dealt with your attitude, your presentation, and your song choice. Part 2 will now address your performance skills and your voice.

Once again, remember that the sooner you start working towards your audition, the better your chances of turning a judge’s chair.

Your Performance Skills

There’s much more to delivering a successful singing audition than having a good voice. Your performance includes:

The way that you walk onto the stage;

What you do in the seconds before you start singing;

What you do with your body while you sing;

How you form a connection with your audience;

What you do if you make a mistake, and;

How you behave when the song is over.

Just like singing, the art of performing needs to be practiced, and this can only be done by getting experience. Seek out local opportunities to sing in front of an audience – either more formal situations such as festivals and eisteddfods, or less formal karaoke nights in bars or at parties. All are great places to hone your performing skills. The most important thing is just to get exposure to performing, with the added bonus of how great you will feel when someone comes up to you afterwards and tells you how much they enjoyed what you did.

Becoming familiar with the inevitable nerves that strike all performers is also an important part of your journey as a performer. Unchecked, they can cripple your ability to breathe correctly for singing, but if you learn to accept and channel them, they can become a force of energy that boosts your performance. Conquering nerves cannot be taught in lessons; it’s only by getting up on stages time and time again that you’ll learn how to deal with them. The key is to get stage experience wherever and whenever you can prior to your audition. Sing in front of anyone who will listen, and be grateful for the feedback they provide.

Your Voice

Your voice is the crowning glory of all your preparation, and the one thing that absolutely must be addressed long before you audition. Look after your vocal cords by drinking plenty of water (room temperature or warmer, not refrigerated), warming up with vocal exercises, avoiding alcohol, smoking and smoky rooms, taking extra care of yourself in cold and ‘flu season, and not straining your voice by screaming at football matches (or children!).

You must be singing daily, practicing for an absolute minimum of an hour every day. If you are not already taking singing lessons, you should consider embarking on a high quality course of vocal instruction (as a music teacher, this is the program that I would recommend). Lessons are essential if you want to start developing your voice to its fullest potential. In previous television singing competitions (think back to the early seasons of Idol), it was often enough for the judges to hear a decent voice with the potential to become something special. Shows like The Voice are far too competitive for that now. If you don’t have a great voice when you walk in the door, you won’t get on the show in the first place, and you certainly won’t get through the blind auditions.

Many singers brag that they’ve never had a lesson and sing just great. It’s true that some people are blessed with natural talent, but natural talent combined with sound vocal instruction can only produce an even more astonishing voice, which is exactly what shows like The Voice are seeking. If you choose to audition, you will literally be competing with some of the best voices in the country, so anything you can do to improve your singing voice will likewise improve your chances of being successful on the show.

Good luck in all your endeavours, and I hope to see you on The Voice next season!